San Ysidro Creek– 18×24″ oil on panel It’s 18 days into April and so far I’ve kept my challenge for myself to make a paitning a day. Sometimes they are small and quick like the one I did from the bleachers during my daughter’s lacrosse game a couple days ago. A couple times I’ve just set up right in the front yard like with the poppies below. Some days I’ve had more time. I’ve posted them all on my instagram page, but here are a few favorites. Also, save the date for my Spring Open Studio event– it will be on Saturday, May 11, on Mother’s Day Weekend. I hope to see you there! Red, White and Gr ..read more

30×30″ oil on linen I’m really happy with this studio painting I made from photos and memory of a moonrise I saw over Evolution Lake. I had been backpacking on my birthday a couple years ago and witnessed this view as the first stars and planets were making their appearance and the tallest peaks still blushed with the fading alpenglow from the sunken western sun. The sky was so vast and below it miles of granite canyons and peaks lie waiting to be explored. detaildetaildetail ..read more

Ventura Botanical Gardens– 16×20″ oil on panel I participated this weekend painting at the Ventura Botanical Gardens for a spring fundraising show they are hosting. Artists were all throughout the gardens painting the stunning views. The garden is young. It was started not too many years ago and then the fires set it back a little bit, but it is already beautiful and full of life and color. It is going to be fun watching it grown and mature over the years. The South African garden was an explosion of color. Other areas are still waiting to bloom. It makes me wonder if spring comes earlier in t ..read more

9×12″ oil on panel I know, I know… those weeds aren’t going to pull themselves. Yes I should be making space for the spring veggies rather than just watching things grow but with all this green fecundity it’s hard to not just kick back and enjoy the feel of the color on your eyes and spirits. I am going to be painting every day this month… it is Plein Airpril. There will be way more paintings that I will bother you with here on the email posts (I try to keep them to one a week max), but if you feel like you can’t get enough painting action, I will be posting them daily on my Instagram page @ke ..read more

The Color of Water– 9×12″ Creek Study When it is spring, you know what the high canyon springs are doing…. springing! I love the challenge of catching the moving water and interesting light where they spill. I learned it is not easy to include the vibrant blue-violet Ceonothus blooms in your painting. They look fake if you paint them their actual electric color, so I had to tone them down so they don’t outshine the sky. San Ysidro Watershed–12×16″ oil on panelMy Happy Place ..read more

16×20″ oil on panel I assume you know moments like this: Out on the beach when things are so elemental… the fire of the sun is just about to dive into the cold winter water and the ocean’s breezy exhales are weaving in and out of the slowly eroding rocks. And there you are… earth, fire, air and water yourself, feeling expansive and grounded and wanting to freeze time, but realizing it’s passing is what is so beautiful. Paint texture detail ..read more

12×24″ oil on panel (Available) Everyone is slipping and hopping on the post-rain muddy obstacle course of a trail to get out the the beach. Down there much of the sand is stripped down to the bedrock and all types of storm debris and driftwood rest on the high tide line. The mustard is blooming, and the grasses are growing fast, racing the growing daylight. sketching it out ..read more

Sandstone Watershed– 12×16″– oil on panel I have two new paintings to share this time. The top one is from one of the many off trail side canyons in the folds of our mountains that collect water for our creeks. Have you all seen some of those waterfalls that appear and flow for a few days after the rains and then sink back below ground? The sycamores are evidence of those subsurface creeks. The painting below I made last weekend not long after my buddy Chris Potter’s memorial, bringing to life memories of the times we painted at this spot together. I put one of his stickers on my easel so I’ll ..read more

Lagoon Morning Reflections– 12×16″ oil on panel This is a view from the edge of the art wing where I spend most of my class time in college. So many memories here of drawing and painting classes and walks in between out to the coast. I learned to row a crew boat out there freshman year in fetid water you would never want to fall into. I remember one day when a fire started out on the lagoon island during my drawing class right from this viewpoint and we watched sadly as several of the trees burnt. I remember running with my girlfriend and eventual wife out on the trails and how if we were earl ..read more

Before the Storm– 10×20″ oil on linen panel I headed up the pass this morning and snuck in a painting before the raindrops started falling today. The wildlife all seem to know the rain is on the way. In particular the neighborhood ants and crows have been acting really weird and the frogs have been extra boisterous. I hope you all stay safe and dry during the storm! The painting of the Devereux Slough below was made on a similar day the last time we had weather in the forecast. Egrets without Regrets– 8×10″ oil on panel ..read more